Corner closure assembly

ABSTRACT

A closure assembly for concealing the ragged edges remaining when siding is applied to a structure is described. A plurality of resilient clips are spaced along the corner after the siding has been applied. The clips are configured to span the corner and to resiliently grasp a corner closure piece which the clips support. The decorative corner closure is configured and dimensioned so that it is firmly retained by the clips and resiliently and snugly held against the siding. The ragged edges of the siding are thus concealed and a decorative appearance realized. However, whenever desired the corner closure can be easily removed or replaced without disturbing the siding or the supporting clips.

United States Patent 1191 Oliver July 3, 1973 CORNER CLOSURE ASSEMBLY3.442.051 5/1969 Derr 52/278 [75] Inventor: Joseph R. Oliver, EastDetroit. Mich. FOREIGN PATENTS R P IC TI S 661,794 11/1951 Great Britain52/2sa [731 Ass'gnee endix corporafionswthfield' 1,029,548 511966 GreatBritain "152/630 [22] Filed: May 19, 1971 Primary Examiner-John E.Murtagh Assistant Examiner-Henry E. Raduazo [21] Appl' 144966Attorney-Lester L. Hallacher and Plante, Hartz, Smith and Thompson [52]US. Cl 52/288, 52/718, 52/512,

52/469, 52/466 [57] ABSTRACT 5l Int. Cl E04f 19/02 A Closure assemuy fconcealing the tagged edges 58] Field of Search 52/717, 7l8, 288,maining when siding is apphed to a Structure is 52/511, 5121 4691 462scribed. A plurality of resilient clips are spaced along the cornerafter the siding has been applied. The clips erences Cited areconfigured to span the corner and to resiliently UNITED STATES PATENTSgrasp a corner closure piece which the clips support. 2,121,213 6/1938Small 52/277 1 The decorative comer closure is configured and 2,423,7227/1947 Nilson 52/277 sioned so that it is firmly retained by the clipsand resill,688,l34 10/1928 Braanstein.. 52/718 iently and snugly heldagainst the siding. The ragged 6,968 2/1927 Hall /6 edges of the sidingare thus concealed and a decorative 7 2,072,334 1937 Hogenfionu- 52/278appearance realized. However, whenever desired the L a corner closurecan be easily removed or replaced withan on.... 2,317,634 4/1943 Olsen52/275 dsmrbmg the the Suppmtmg 2,654,449 10/ 1953 Beamer 52/469 3Claims, 5 Drawing Figures Z 22 1 I l v I k I 5 l l5 I Z I 22 W I l 2.1 l/A I /3 22 1/1,

PATENTEI] JUL 3 I973 FIG! lNVENTOR JOSEPH R. OLI VER QMXW ' ATTORNEYCORNER CLOSURE ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When siding, such asaluminum or wood, is applied to a building it is necessary to provide acorner closure so that the ragged edges of the siding are not visible.The most commonly used prior art corner closure consists of a cornermember which is fastened to the corner of the building. The cornermember is configured so that it hides the ends of the siding, but thesiding overlaps a portion of the corner member. As a consequence,whenever a change of the corner member is desirable, such as when it isdamaged, the end of the siding must be unfastened so that the closurecan be removed from behind the siding. This is very objectionablebecause it is expensive and time consuming, and also because it disturbsthe siding, which ordinarily is undamaged and would not have to bedisturbed if it were not necessary to do so to remove the corner member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention overcomes these disadvantages byproviding a corner assembly including a clip member and a corner closuremember. If desired the closure member can be decorative by using specialconfigurations and colors. A plurality of the clips is arranged alongthe corner of the structure. The clips are applied to the corner of thestructure after the siding has been applied to the structure so thatthey lie outside of the siding. Accordingly, the clips are readilyremovable and replaceable without disturbing the siding. The clips areconfigured to span the structure corner and to provide a resilientbiasing of the ends of the clips toward the structure. The ends of theclips are configured to firmly retain a corner closure member which isapplied to the clips and which is then biased toward the structure bythe biasing force of the clips. Because of this arrangement, the cornerclosure can be removed or replaced whenever desired without disturbingthe siding, the ends of which the closure member conceals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of theinventive structure showing the corner closure broken away to reveal thesupport clips.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2 but shows the clip and closure memberconfigurations for an inside corner.

FIG. 4 is another preferred embodiment of a clip useful in the inventiveassembly.

FIG. 5 is a pictorial view of the clip of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two sides 11 and 12 of astructure meet to form a corner. This corner can be 90 as shown in FIG.2 or, obviously, can be some other angle if the structure has more orless than four sides. Siding Strips 13 and 14 are applied to thestructure in known manner to provide weather protection andaesthetically enhance the appearance of the structure. The siding,particularly if it is aluminum, cannot be mitred to form a neatappearing corner, and therefore ragged Ends 16 ordinarily would bevisible. It is therefore desirable to add a Corner Closure Member 17 toconceal Ends 16 of Siding Strips l3 and 14 and also to enhance theaesthetic value to the structure.

Corner Closure 17 is applied to the building by first applying a seriesof Clips 18 to the corner of the structure. The number of clips utilizedis dependent upon the height of the structure and is selected to providea desired structural strength to Comer Closure 17.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, Clips 18 are configured to have an AngularPortion 19, which is congruent with the angular configuration of thecorner to be concealed. As illustrated in FIG. 1, Angular Portion 19 isflat so that Clips 18 lie flat against Siding Strips l3 and 14. Becauseof this configuration, the clips symmetricaly span the corner and lie inthe plane of the siding. This causes Clips 18 to align themselves withthe structure corner and Closure Member 17 is thus supported evenly anduniformly along the corner. The Clips 18 are held'in place by nails,screws, or some other convenient fastening means as indicated byreference numeral 20.

The Clips 18 are applied after Siding Strips l3 and 14 are applied tothe building. As-a consequence, Clips 18 lie outside the siding and canbe removed without disturbing the siding. It will be noted that thecrosssectional configuration on the siding can be wedgeshaped so thatthe top edge of a strip of siding fits under, or snugly against, thebottom edge of the siding strip which is located immediately above it.As a consequence, the clips can be applied to the siding at the thinpart of the wedge without causing an undesirable deformation of thesiding.

Both sides of Clips 18 are formed with two Curved Portions 22 and 23.Curved Portion 23 is formed in the opposite direction from CurvedPortion 22 so that an S-shaped curve is formed. The S-shaped curve isdimensioned so that the maximum Cord 25 of the combined Curved Portions22 and 23 is slightly less than the maximum thickness of the siding.This assures a snug biasing of Closure 17 against the siding strips.

The Ends 26 of Clips 18 are formed into eyes having a radius which isselected for convenient fabrication of both Clips 18 and Closure 17. Thecurved ends of Eyes 26 are utilized as retaining means for firmlyretaining Closure 17 in a nonslideable manner and to insure that Closure17 is firmly biased against the Siding Strips 13 and 14.

Eye 26 and Curved Portion 23 are connected by a substantially linearLeaf 24. Leaf 24 serves as an extension of Curve 23 to add length toClip 18 so that any convenient dimension can be used. The combinedresilient effect of Curves 22 and 23 is such that when the clips are intheir neutral state Eye 26 is pulled toward Angular Portion 19.Accordingly, when the clips are applied to the siding, Eyes 26 arebiased toward the siding. When a Closure 17 is put in place, Clips 18are spread against the biasing force and the closure is firmly biasedagainst the siding. The Clips 18 are formed of aluminum, steel, or someother resilient material to enhance the biasing force.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, End Closures 17 and 32 are shaped to spanClips 18 and the structure corner to thus conceal Ends 16 of SidingStrips I3 and 14 from view. Closure 17 is formed with a Radius 27 whichcooperates with Eyes 26 of Clips 18 to support Closure 17 in anonmoveable relationship with respect to the structure. The outsideradius of Clips 18 will preferably equal the inside radius of Ends 27.Closure 17 is formed such that when in a neutral state the angle formedby the sides is less than the corner angle of the structure.

As a consequence, application to Clips 18 requires a slight spreadingagainst the resilience of the material from which Closure 17 is formed.This also adds to the biasing force which holds Closure 17 in place.

If desired Closure 17 can be configured so that its corner Angle 28 isapproximately equal to the corner angle of the structure. However, ifdesired, Closure 17 can be made in other configurations, such asthreesided, as indicated by broken lines 29. Any desired configurationcan be used, so long as the configuration of the edges includes Radius27 to cooperate with Clips 18.

After a sufficient number of Clips 18 is applied to each corner of thestructure, Corner Closure 17 is applied to the clips which hold itsnugly against the structure. Closure 17 therefore conceals theobjectionable ragged Ends 16 of siding. If desired, Closure 17 can bedecoratively painted or otherwise fabricated to add an aestheticappearance to the structure. Because of the unique features of Clips 18and Corner Closure l7 sim ple removal and replacement of Closure 17 ispossible without disturbing Clips 18 or Siding 14.

FIG. 3 shows a closure assembly when the structure corner is an insidecorner. In this configuration, Clip 31 is very similar to Clip 18 ofFIG. 2. However, the Angular Portion 33 of Clip 31 is bent oppositely indirection from Angular Portion 19 of Clip 18. An inside angle is thusformed by Clip 31. Clip 31 is also formed with an S-shaped Portion 34and Eye-Shaped Ends 35 in a manner similar to Clip 18.

Corner Closure 32 is configured in the form of an inside corner havingcurved End Portions 36 which cooperate with Eyes 35 of Clips 31 to holdthe closure member in place. Obviously, Closure 32 can be decorativelyconfigured or painted similarly to Closure 17, if desired.

Clip 31 and Corner Closure 32 are fabricated to include the variousbiasing features described with respect to the FIG. 2 embodiment and,accordingly, Closure 32 is snugly and firmly held against the siding ofthe structure.

FIG. 4 is an end view of a second preferred embodiment of the inventiveclip. Clip 40 includes an Angle 41 which is centrally located of theclip so that it symmetrically spans the corner to which it is applied ina manner similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. Symmetricallylocated about Angle 41 are two additional Angles 43 and 44 by which thebody of Clip 40 is bent back toward Angle 41. Symmetrically locatedabout Angles 43 are two additional Angles 44 which cause Clip 40 todiverge outwardly from Angle 41 and in essentially the same direction asAngle 41. Angles 43 and 44 are slightly less than 90 so that the Sides47 of Clip 40 do not lie against the closure piece when it is in place.This causes the outside portion of the angular Portions 44 to rideagainst the sides of the closure piece while Ends 46 of Clip 40 firmlyrest against the curved Edges 27 of the closure piece. This snugly holdsClosure 17 against the clip and retains it in its desired position onthe structure.

The angular extent of Angles 43 and 44 also causes Clip 40 to bespring-biased against Closure 17 to help retain it firmly in position.This is accomplished by configuring Clip 40 so that it is necessary toslightly deform either Clip 40 or Closure 17 when applying Closure 17.When Closure 17 is in place, the resiliency of the clip and closurecauses a snug fit of the two members.

As best seen in FIG. 5, Corners 43 and 44 are provided with Indentations42 and 45, respectively. These indentations serve several functions.Firstly, they add structural strength to Clip 40 to assist it inretaining its desired configuration. Secondly, they add to the biasingforce of the clip because, when applying Closure 17, the clip must bepushed inwardly against the indentations. Accordingly, when released theindentations cause the angles to spread to their normal position,thereby adding to the biasing force.

What is claimed is: 1. An assembly for concealing the edges of sidingalong the corner of a structure including: a plurality of clips arrangedalong said corner and fixedly applied to said structure and said siding,and a closure member configured to span said corner and supported bysaid clips to be biased against said siding, the improvement wherein:

said clips are configured congruently to said corner and extend awayfrom the apex of said corner to lie flat against said siding on bothsides of and immediately extending from said apex and including aresilient portion to effect said biasing, and retaining portions forsnugly contacting said closure member, said clips spanning said cornerso that said retaining portions lie on both sides of said corner;

said clips including a center angle congruent with said corner; saidresilient portion including first and second angles symmetricallydisposed about said center angle, said first angles opening in adirection opposite the direction said center angle opens, and saidsecond angles opening in the same direction as said center angle; anddimples in said first and second angles for increasing the closingresiliency and strength of said clip;

said closure member having edges configured compatibly with saidretaining portions so that said edges firmly grasp said retainingportions and said closure member is snugly and firmly supported againstsaid siding by said clips.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said first and second angles are amaximum of 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said retaining meansincludes one area of said first angles and the ends of said clips.

i i 4 k

1. An assembly for concealing the edges of siding along the corner of astructure including: a plurality of clips arranged along said corner andfixedly applied to said structure and said siding, and a closure memberconfigured to span said corner and supported by said clips to be biasedagainst said siding, the improvement wherein: said clips are configuredcongruently to said corner and extend away from the apex of said cornerto lie flat against said siding on both sides of and immediatelyextending from said apex and including a resilient portion to effectsaid biasing, and retaining portions for snugly contacting said closuremember, said clips spanning said corner so that said retaining portionslie on both sides of said corner; said clips including a center anglecongruent with said corner; said resilient portion including first andsecond angles symmetrically disposed about said center angle, said firstangles opening in a direction opposite the direction said center angleopens, and said second angles opening in the same direction as saidcenter angle; and dimples in said first and second angles for increasingthe closing resiliency and strength of said clip; said closure memberhaving edges configured compatibly with said retaining portions so thatsaid edges firmly grasp said retaining portions and said closure memberis snugly and firmly supported against said siding by said clips.
 2. Theassembly of claim 1 wherein said first and second angles are a maximumof 90*.
 3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said retaining means includesone area of said first angles and the ends of said clips.